Getting to the bottom of it

I am ready to get working on the top and bottom sections of my Green Parrot quilt and will reuse the two sets of two rows of rosettes that I removed from my Birds in the Loft hexagon quilt. There were 25 rosettes in each set, 13 in one row and 12 in the other. I split this section so that there were 9 rows in the top row and 8 in the second row. The remaining 7 rosettes (4 in one row and 3 in the other) were stitched to one of the stars that were removed from the sides of Birds in the Loft. I  had added a round of dark cream and pink hexagons around the stars which will fit into the top and bottom of the medallion.

Stars removed from Birds in the Loft

Once the star was stitched to the remaining rosettes, the unit was added to the left side of the two large rows of rosettes.The red arrow shows where the rosettes were removed and where they were moved to. This will be the bottom edge of the quilt so the unit is hung upside down!

I've been working on extra rosettes that will be needed to fill the area to the right the star. I also need to add a row of cream hexagons to the top of the quilt so it has a nice finished edge. The parrot will attached to the star. The parrot unit is almost sewn together so there will be a picture of it in my next post.

I had used a cream fabric for the path (the area between the rosettes) my Birds in the Loft quilt but during the making of it I ran short so I added another similar cream fabric. I thought I would have enough of it to complete Green Parrot however I will be just a little short. So what's a quilt maker to do? I will add a third fabric. Unfortunately I don't have a cream that is the same value but I do have one that is just slightly darker so I will place it strategically on the sides of the quilt. This will make it appear that the addition of this fabric was intentional and it will create a design element. Interesting things can happen when you run short of fabric. That's exactly what happened when I made Stars in the Loft. I thought I had enough path fabric but was very wrong. I ended up have to add five or six fabrics. It is impossible to tell from this picture but the extra fabrics add depth and interest.

Stars in the Loft by Karen H

So my tip for today is this: if you are planning on making a hexagon quilt why not consider using several fabrics of the same value and colour for your path? I think rosettes surrounded by assorted black prints would be very dramatic!

Before I go I'll leave you with a close-up shot of another one of my very old works-in-progress that I recently pulled out. I so enjoyed making the rosettes for Stars in the Loft (see my page English Paper Piecing Instructions & Hexagon Fun for tutorials on making those rosettes) that I decided to create another quilt. My starting point was the print fabric in the very centre. I thought it would be great for a star centre so I fussy cut it and then made the star points. I thought another round of star points would be even more exciting so I added the darker pink star points. As I worked I sketched it out on paper and the design slowly emerged. I'll share more pictures in the near future! And I'll work out the design to finish this top because I think it deserves a fine finish!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

The Green Parrot - Round Two

I've stitched all of the pieces for the second round for the Green Parrot hexagon quilt. This is the parrot.

This is round two stitched together into a "noodle". Notice that the round is not closed (see the area with the red circle). A "noodle" is a circle or oval of hexagon units sewn together into a long strip which can then be sewn to whatever it is it will surround. It is the same method that I describe as an "open donut" only on a larger scale. I find it makes the sewing go faster and so much easier.

I am constantly asked how it is that I work so quickly so I thought I would share a few of the things that work for me,

• I find that if I work on something I am enjoying I sew fast. When it isn't as much fun I slow down. To overcome this I always have my quilt in various stages so I can work on what tickles my fancy at that moment whether it is cutting strips of fabric into hexagons, basting or sewing hexagons together;
• When I baste I work with a very long thread because basting using a lot of thread so the less I need to thread the needle the better. I baste with a darning needle because it is less flexible and it is longer so it is easier to hold;
• When I sew hexagons together I use a short length of thread because there is less thread to draw through the fabric. So what is a short length? I work with roughly 12" of thread. If I finish sewing a seam and there is a little thread leftover I will use it to baste a hexagon rather than throw it out;
• I always have a bag of fabric hexagons in a little bag with a needle, thread and small scissors and I toss it in my handbag. When I am out if there is down time I can baste or sew the hexagons. This is particularly helpful for path hexagons because there are so many of them and they are boring. By basting/sewing a few when I am out it cuts down on the monotony;
• When I have a pile of path hexagons basted I sew them into pairs. Again, this is a great way to use leftover bits of thread (assuming the colour works);
• I always have multiple needles threaded and ready to go. I've recently switched to milliners needles for sewing the hexagons together. These are long fine needles and I find that the longer needle puts less stress on the finger joints and this fine needle makes it easier to pierce just a few threads of fabric when joining hexagons.

So there you have it - a few things that work for me! I was also asked by JP (sorry JP, you are a no reply blogger so I couldn't send you an email) if I could discuss how I start and carry out my design process. What a great suggestion. I will definitely do a post to explain the processes I use but need to give it some thought so that it is useful to you people!

So today my plan is to attach the "noodle" to the parrot. This picture will give you an idea as to how it will look.

It is a grey, rainy day here so it is perfect sewing weather. Until I post again, happy sewing.

Karen H

Two finishes (sort of)

Today I have two finishes for you. When I say finishes I mean they are quilt tops but they are technically not "finished" because they are not quilted. They will eventually be quilted but I've got a trunk show in July and if I baste them for quilting they will be far too bulky to take to the show. My trunk show will be part of a huge outdoor quilt show in Toronto. It will be at Black Creek Pioneer Village and the name of the show is Quilts at the Creek. I went in 2013 and there were over 300 quilts on display. You can get a sneak peek of what I saw here.  If you are in the Toronto area you really should plan on attending this show. It is well worth the price of admission!

I have finished the border on Value Proposition hexagon quilt. When I last showed it to you I had a print border at the top and bottom and an off-white border on the sides. I thought the side borders looked rather bland and unfinished. They needed something dark on the edges. I have an old wavy print in my stash so I cut it out and appliqued it on top of the off-white border.

This is the finished quilt top. I like the result.

I also managed to take a picture of my "edited" Birds in the Loft hexagon quilt. At 128" long it was just too long so I removed two rows of hexagon rosettes from the top and two from the bottom. This is the before picture.

This is the final quilt top after the rows were removed. It is still large but it is much more manageable and I think it looks more like a quilt and less like a carpet!

The extra hexagon rosettes will be used to surround my parrot medallion quilt. The leftover stars from the border of Birds will be incorporated in the medallion. I've already prepared two of them for the sides of the frame for the medallion and I've now completed the second pair for the medallion. These two will be above and below the medallion.

Now I can start putting the hexagon frame together so I can add it to the parrot medallion. Pictures will follow! I'm also going to start cutting strips of fabric for the extra rosettes I need to surround the parrot medallion. Work, work, work but oh what fun it is!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

Round 2 for the parrot medallion is underway

And so round two of rosettes for my parrot medallion hexagon quilt begins. I want to add a round of rosettes to the medallion but I want to create a unique effect with these rosettes.

I have two strips of leftovers from Birds in the Loft. The rosettes will eventually surround the parrot medallion but for now what I want is to remove the stars. There is one star at either end of each strip so I've got four of them to work with.

I like to construct my quilts in sections. I start with small sections and then combine them to make a larger section. So to begin round two for the parrot medallion I made four rosettes using two toffee coloured fabrics. I added a dot print centre. It is the same print I used in the middle of the cream rosettes that surround the parrot. It is good to repeat prints in this way because it gives the quilt a more cohesive and planned look. I stitched four dark brown hexagons into a "V" shape and added it to the toffee rosette.

I made a unit out of seven dark cream hexagons and will stitch it to the toffee rosette. The dark cream fabric is darker than the cream fabric in the leftover strips from Birds in the Loft. I am hoping that this subtle different will add some depth and dimension to my quilt. The only place I will use this cream print is in this round of rosettes.

The last step to complete this rosette is to make a pair of "parenthesis" from an olive brown print and stitch them to either side. That's one down (almost) and three  more to go!

I'll need two rosettes made from the dark brown print and the olive-brown print. Once again I repeated the dot print in the middle of the rosette.

I stitched three dark brown hexagons and three olive-brown hexagons. They will attach to the top of the rosette as indicated below. Does this look goofy? Well hang on a minute because it will get better!

I next made a "V" with three brown hexagons and another with three olive-brown hexagons. They will be stitched to the bottom of the rosette. Can you see how the colours appear to be intertwined? That's is what I am trying to achieve by using the two colours, dark brown and olive-brown!

I next stitched two hexagons from the red print on ecru fabric that I used in the first round of rosettes and to each I added a cream hexagon (the same fabric that surrounded the first rosette in this post).

And with two of the stars I'll make these units. The stars are surrounded by the dark cream and there is one red print on ecru hexagon at the bottom.

I'll need to create some connector units made of two or three hexagons to join all of the units I've made today. I also need to add a round of hexagons to the two remaining stars. Lots of sewing to do. Also I realized that I need seventeen pairs of rosettes to make up the background. I really enjoy making the rosettes so it isn't a hardship! Sew, sew, sew!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

Parrot Medallion Hexagon Quilt

When I last showed you my parrot medallion quilt I had added a dark round to frame the piece and make it pop!

I have a sketch with a rough idea of where I am going in terms of design but not colour so I'm making it up as I go! I've decided I would like to have another round of light value fabric. I auditioned several fabrics and settled on a creamy colour print, a darker dot fabric, a pink print and a red on ecru print. The red on ecru is very subtle so it reads as pink.

I stared by making six rosettes with the creamy print and the darker dot fabric.

I made six units with the pint print and the red on ecru print. These units will attach to the six rosettes above.

When placed together this is how they look.

I sew them together into a long "noodle" and it was then stitched to the parrot medallion and voila!

There is one more big, fancy border to go around this unit and then the rest of the quilt will be made from the leftover hexagon rosettes that I removed from Birds in the Loft. I had four of my pieced start rosettes that I removed so they will form part of that border. I just love making these stars. I've written a number of tutorials on making them and you can find them under the tab English Paper Piecing Instructions & Hexagon Fun.

I did a quick count and I think I am short about ten or eleven pairs of hexagon rosettes short so I'll pull fabrics and start cutting so they can be basted at my leisure!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

Row by row I'm making slow progress

I've had a busy several days so there isn't much sewing to show but I did get my Brinton Hall blocks stitched into rows and I've also made all of the filler pieces for the top, bottom, corners and sides. First I'll start with the rows.

These are the filler pieces. I've made six of the unit at the top. It will fill in the "V" in the top and bottom rows and also it will also fill out the corners as it connects to the side units of which there are four.

When joined this is what the units that fit the corners will look like.

The top and bottom rows have all of their fillers attached. The middle row is snuggled up between them to give you an idea of how it will look!

So now the rows can be stitched together and then the whole thing will be appliqued to a background fabric. So far everything has come from my stash and I've got a lovely blue that will work just fine for the background. My plan is to prepare it today so that once the rows are stitched together I will be ready for the next step!

It is a short post today. Hopefully there'll be more to share soon! Until I post again, happy sewing.
Karen H

Brinton, a bird and Enduring Grace

The last two blocks for the centre of Brinton Hall are now stitched! This is a series quilt from QuiltMania magazine and it began with issue 107.

The next step is to sew the seven blocks together and then add the filler pieces.

I've also added a dark round to the parrot block which is for the quilt that will be made with the leftover rows from Birds in the Loft. The dark border really makes the centre shine. I'm pulling fabrics for the next rounds and am narrowing down my choices. I really need to come up with a name for this quilt because it helps me keep the project organized in my mind!

I've also got another picture of the old hexagon quilt project I pulled out. It is my version of a quilt in the Shelburne Museum collection. It was pictured in a book Enduring Grace by C&T publishing. The original quilt was made by Jane Morton Cook in 1820-1840. The book was published in 1997 and I think I bought it around that time so I expect that is when I started the quilt!

There was no pattern in the book so I drafted my own. Here is a picture of the centre of my quilt. I appliqued the hexagon unit to borders and then there are small and large hexagon rosettes appliqued in the borders. All are finished except for the corners. I stopped when I reached the point where I had to stitch the corner units to the borders. I've now set them in and am basting the rosettes (which were already made) so that they can be appliqued. The quilt will need a border and the fabric has been ordered and should be here any day now!

So many projects on the go and not enough time! Plus I've still got oodles of ideas for more quilts.

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

Birds and more

Two more Brinton Hall blocks are stitched. Do you recognize the bird fabric in the first one? It is from the same fabric that I used for the four medallions in Birds in the Loft! I love the old fashioned look of those little birds. The remind me of pretty little postcards from the early 1900s.

I love the little basket filled with flowers!

That's a total of five picture blocks made which means there are only two to go! I've also been sewing together scraps for the pieces that will fill in the sides. I need a total of four of them.

I love making these fabric pictures framed with hexagons so I've made one as a centerpiece for a medallion quilt that will be combined with the extra rows of rosettes that I removed from Birds in The Loft. It looks a little insipid and pale but I plan to add to it so that it is more dramatic!

I've got another picture of one of my old incomplete quilt tops that I came across. I showed you a picture of part of it in my last post. This is the centre medallion. You can see there is a hard crease from being folded for such a long period of time. I estimate I made this more than ten years ago. I'm determined to complete the quilt top in the next few weeks so stay tuned for more pictures!

 Looks like I've got my work cut out for me so I had best get going. Until I post again, happy sewing!

Karen H

Brinton blocks and more

I've completed two more blocks for my Brinton Hall quilt. These blocks come together so quickly. If you missed how I made them you can read about it here. The hexagons are 1". I cut 2 1/2" strips of fabric (across the width of fabric) and rapidly cut the hexagons for the frame.

I've also been basting leftovers for the side filler pieces that will be needed when the blocks are made and stitched together.

I've added the final wavy appliqued border to the sides of Value Proposition and I've removed four rows from Birds in the Loft to make it less large. It is now 100" long (give or take) and I  can live with that.Unfortunately it is raining so the pictures will have to wait until it is dry outside.  I've designing a medallion that I can surround with the leftover rosettes from Birds. I need to sort out the colours I'll use and then I can start cutting and basting!

I found another hexagon project in with my fabric and most of the work was done but I think I got sick of it so I just put it away. I've had a look at it and am in love once again so I'm going to finish it up. Here's a sneak peak. More about this quilt in the days to come!

I'll leave you with a picture of the lads, Gump (left) and baby Jinx (right). It is so funny how the old guy fell in love with the baby (he generally hates all other cats). These two are inseparable now! Mind you I think Gump would be just as happy if Jinx would just give him a little alone time! For my part I am happy that he appears to be losing his interest in my patches. He hasn't stolen any in weeks however earlier in the week he tried to run away with a pair of scissors! Crazy cat - doesn't he know that you need an opposable thumb to use them and more importantly NO RUNNING WITH SCISSORS JINXY!

My chores await so until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen